LA VERNE, CA — The University of La Verne baseball team erupted for 15 runs on 15 hits Friday afternoon, defeating SCIAC rival Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 15-3 in a seven-inning matchup.

Nathan Perry collected three hits while RJ Libby, Ryan Vosika, Aaron Whobrey, Daniel Moreno, and Alek Bautista all recorded two hits each, including Bautista's second home run of the season. Libby drove in four runs while Bautista and Whobrey both picked up three.

Sending 14 batters to the plate, the Leopards' offense gave starter Andrew Wente an early cushion against the Stags, who are ranked nationally #9 by D3baseball.com and #7 by the ABCA, plating 10 runs in the bottom of the second inning off seven hits and an error. 

Isaiah Figueroa and Perry started the rally with back-to-back singles off CMS starter Kody Perry. Jake Ledford hit a sacrifice fly, bringing in Figueroa while Libby followed with another single, scoring Perry. With Libby on base, Bautista hit a moonshot to left field, clearing the fence and extending the Leopards' lead to 4-0. Parker McGraw relieved Perry on the mound after he allowed another single to Moreno and Vosika walked. Now with two outs, Aidan Salcedo took a free pass to first, loading the bases for Figueroa, who was taking his second at-bat of the inning. He was hit by a pitch, allowing Moreno to cross the plate. Perry kept the hit parade going, knocking a two-RBI single up the middle and widening the score gap, 7-0. After Ledford walked and advanced both Perry and Figueroa 90 feet on the base paths, Libby singled again, bringing in the two lead runners and padding the lead 10-0.

CMS answered with two runs in the top of the fourth and added another in the fifth, but La Verne's offense remained steady. The Leopards pushed across a run in the bottom of the fifth when Aaron Whobrey drove in Moreno, who had reached on a walk, then scored four more runs on four hits in the sixth to trigger the run rule.

Wente tossed three innings, allowing two runs off six hits and two strikeouts while Rudy O'Dell threw one inning, surrendering one run. Lucas Quintana picked up his first win of the season, pitching two clean innings while Aiden Nunez finished the game for La Verne, tossing a perfect seventh inning.

With the win, the Leopards improve to 12-9 overall and 4-3 in conference play.

Next up: La Verne will complete the three-game series against the Stags tomorrow at 11 AM and 2 PM. The doubleheader will be played at Whittier College.